The Last Laugh
by Nova-Author
Summary: And within the next few moments, I understood what was going on. I had a small, tingling fear from the beginning, but now my fear was confirmed. Armin was betraying me. Drawing blood, havoc began. I would have the last laugh. :: Spoilers for volume 8 of the manga, and the second half of the animation. Implied ArminXAnnie.


"I'm scared, we go above ground, or I won't help."

"Get the hell down here right now!"

"Stop yelling Eren!" The raven still didn't really look like she scared that he was specifically yelling at me, she just probably didn't want to deal with his loud voice in her ears. I never liked Mikasa. She was always such a subtle, arrogant, naïve idiot who followed Eren around like a lost puppy… The only praise I could give her is that she could kill a titan….but I didn't like that too much.

"Why shouldn't he, Mikasa? I haven't seen any people around here for a while now…"

And within the next few moments, I understood what was going on. I had a small, tingling fear from the beginning, but now my fear was confirmed.

Armin was betraying me.

"Hey…Armin….that really hurts…when did you start to look at me that way?" I murmured quietly, gazing down at him from the top of the steps where I stood, in refusal to go down there with them.

His crystal blue eyes stared at me, his eyes shaky, a bit of fear glinting in them, though he asked, probably out of curiosity, but no remorse in his voice.

"Annie…I really don't understand…why?"

And I just stared at him, as if he were a blank wall. I knew that there was hurt in my eyes, I knew that I was close to tears. Maybe if I didn't say anything, maybe they'd just let me go…

"Why did you have Marco's maneuver gear? He had been fixing every little scratch and scrape he could on that thing…I remember what it looks like!" His voice was so accusing, so mean.

When did Armin become so cruel?

Didn't he love me?

"I just…found it." There was truth to that. Though, they probably didn't want to hear the fact that I had grabbed it off of Marco's freshly dead body. They didn't want to hear the fact that I watched him die, that I didn't help him. I needed someone's gear, and Marco just happened to be the first person to cross my path at that train of thought.

"And those two titans that were brought back by the survey corps, you killed them, didn't you?"

What was this, a court case?

"Hmm…maybe I did, maybe I didn't. If you had presumed that a month ago…why haven't you told the commander about it?"

I could see that out of the corner of my eye, Armin had the most distressed face that I've ever seen him with as I turned my head away from him to stare at the tile pavement of the interior. Marco and Jean were supposed to be here with me right now. If I hadn't let Marco die, him and Jean would have been in the interior, and if I took someone else's maneuver gear, I would have been able to probably get away with it…

"I still find it hard to believe that you did this… I wanted to say that my thesis was wrong…but this is going on…because you didn't kill me back there…why didn't you kill me back there?"

Didn't he understand the fact that I loved him?

Maybe he didn't. Maybe I was the one who misunderstood.

I thought he loved me.

"Yeah…I still do wonder that myself sometimes…I never imagined that you'd be cornering me like this, Armin….now I wonder why I didn't kill you back there…"

He was nearly bawling. I could tell. I know that I was cruel, I'm probably a jerk, and I can understand why he'd be mad.

"Annie, please, there's still a chance…that you might be some idiot who's just here at the wrong time and playing along to make this some dumb joke, so please, just come with us, you can prove to us that if you're really innocent, that you can come underground with us!"

Was Eren the only one who really cared about me? He was so firm on the fact that I was really all human… I wish I was.

"I can't come down there…I…couldn't become a soldier…"

No. I couldn't come down there because Armin was there. I couldn't stand to stand next to him for another moment. Not after he betrayed me like this…not after he's probably ready to turn my corpse in for examination and dissection… I was just a stupid pawn in the game of figuring out what the titans were and how they became. But I would play by my own rules!

"I thought I told you, enough with the dumb jokes!"

"Annie, please talk to us, we can help you!"

Armin was pleading with me now? But he wanted me to be discovered as a titan at the same time…what a bunch of phony crap.

"No…alright…this is pointless…I have had enough of this!"

I did mention that I hated Mikasa, yes? Well, she was starting to charge at me with one of her blades. She was always one to lose her temper so easily…

"I'll slice you to shreds all over again, Female Titan!"

Slice me to shreds? Please. You couldn't hurt me if you even tried, Mikasa… you couldn't even listen to your own officer who has more experience than you, you stupid little puppy… the only real threat was the corporal.

But I had a plan.

I bet that Armin didn't see this one coming.

And as I looked down at the petite blonde that I once held my heart…I could see nothing but fear, hatred, and….pain? Yes, those were the emotions in his eyes.

I swear I could feel a smile plaster my face.

"I guess that you're lucky that I've been so generous to you… it looks like your gamble paid off for now…but this is where mine begins!"

And as I went to bite my hand, I saw colored smoke fill the air.

They had expected this all along?

Well, the jokes on them.

As villagers swarmed around me, gagging me, holding my arms away from my body, the trio I was supposed to follow looked so relaxed, so content… they really thought that was the end?

They doubted my intelligence?

And as I slid my finger towards the ring that was looped around my index finger, I could see Armin's face turn fifty shades of green.

Drawing blood, havoc began.

I would have the last laugh.


End file.
